HomeMy WebLinkAboutVERIZON FTC RIVERSIDE WIRELESS FACILITY RELOCATION - FDP220012 - SUBMITTAL DOCUMENTS - ROUND 1 - PROJECT NARRATIVE5935 South Zang Street,Suite 280, Littleton CO 80127
August 15, 2022
Verizon FTC Riverside Facility Relocation, Project Information & Design Narrative
FTC Riverside Relo located at 1500 Riverside Avenue, Fort Collins, CO
OVERVIEW:
My client, Verizon Wireless, wishes to submit a PDP/FDP application for a new wireless telecommunication facility. This
facility will be a 60’ self-support screened tower painted to match the existing building with ground equipment at the
base of the tower all located between 3 sides of the existing building. This facility will replace an existing power
transmission pole colocation that is nearing the end of its life due to equipment limitations on the utility pole.
This location is southeast of downtown in a mixed-use neighborhood just south of Highway 14/ E. Mulberry Street. The
installation of this new equipment will provide critical 4G-LTE voice and data services along with 5G to a location with
many residents, employees, businesses, and the traveling public. We feel that this design and location is the most fitting
and least intrusive proposal for the area in order to continue providing safe, reliable, and fast wireless services to a
community who demands top notch services.
SITE OBJECTIVE:
The primary objective of this project is to replicate the existing coverage and capacity services of Verizon’s existing
facility located on a nearby power transmission pole. If replicated successful, the nearby neighborhoods will not notice a
service disruption or decrease in services once the old site is taken down. Additionally, the existing site has space
limitations affecting the available options for upgrades and new technologies. This new site should be able to replicate
existing services while also allowing for future upgrades necessary to keep up with changing technologies. This is
extremely important so that Verizon does not need to look at building additional macro sites in the immediate vicinity.
WIRELESS DATA GROWTH:
Each year Verizon sees large increases in how much data its customers need. As the resolution of the pictures we send
increases, the quality of the video we watch improves, and the complexity of the applications grow, we commonly see
tremendous growth year-over-year. Machine to Machine communications will also increase the data burden on
wireless networks, as over the next five (5) years more and more services that improve our safety and make our lives
easier will be available over the wireless infrastructure , such as:
- Cars that notify 911 when an airbag deploys.
- “Driverless” cars needing traffic data and maps to reach your destination quickly
- Medical monitors that will alert us should a loved one neglect taking their prescription drugs.
- Home alarms that notify you when your child arrives home from school.
- Smart street lights that notify the city when they are not working.
- City garbage cans that let people know when they need to be emptied.
- Tracking watches will aid in finding lost Alzheimer patients.
5935 South Zang Street,Suite 280, Littleton CO 80127
COVERAGE VS CAPACITY:
Coverage or capacity deficiencies are the two main drivers that prompt the need for a new wireless communications
facility (WCF). Most WCF provide a mixture of both capacity and coverage for the benefit of the end user.
Coverage describes the existence or lack of wireless service in an area. The request for improved service often comes
from our customers or emergency services personnel that have no or poor service. Coverage used to refer to the ability
to make or place a call in vehicles, however, as usage patterns have shifted, coverage is now determined based on
whether or not sufficient WCF exist to provide a reliable signal inside of buildings and residential areas, as well.
Historically, coverage was the primary means to measure the effectiveness of the network in a given area.
Capacity, on the other hand, is the metric used to determine if sufficient wireless resources exist and is now the primary
means to measure how a community’s wireless needs are being addressed. “Five bars” no longer means guaranteed
coverage and capacity because each WCF has a limited amount of resources to handle voice calls, data connections and
data volume. When these limits are reached and the WCF becomes overloaded (meaning there is more demand than
signal to service it), the user experience quickly degrades preventing customers from making/receiving calls or getting
applications to run. A WCF short on capacity could also make internet connections time out or not function at all.
For this project specifically, we need a location and design that will be able to replicate the coverage and capacity of
Verizon’s existing equipment on the power transmission pole just north of the property at 1500 Riverside Avenue.
Because networks grow based off the location of existing sites and filling in gaps, our new facility’s services could be
greatly diminished if we go too far in any one direction away from the existing site. Our proposed location is in an
optimal location to replicate the existing site, while also maintaining a fitting design later described in this narrative.
ALTERNATIVES ANALYSIS:
As noted previously, the location of a replacement facility was rather limited since the nearby network has been shaped,
planned, and developed over the last few decades with this existing facility in mind. By going too far in any one
direction, Verizon risk creating new coverage gaps that don’t currently exist with this existing site in service. The best
way to describe this is a parking lot with light poles set every so often to make sure the entire parking lot has lighting. If
one pole is taken out, the most logical location for a new pole would be back in that same spot so that lighting remains.
Because of this scenario, Verizon’s search ring was limited to a .2 mile radius from the existing power transmission pole.
Within that .2 mile radius, there’s a stretch of industrial uses along Riverside Avenue that presented the first set of
potential candidates. The south side of the ring (south of Riverside Avenue) is mostly single family residential and was
immediately eliminated from consideration. The north side of the ring (north of Hoffman Road) is designated nature and
park areas including the Nix Farm Natural Areas Headquarters. We did not feel that this entire north half of the ring was
an appropriate location for a new freestanding wireless because of the protected nature and desired uses for this area.
As we began to focus on the industrial properties along Riverside Avenue, many fell short of providing the adequate
spacing, setback requirements, and suitability for a wireless facility. These properties were removed from consideration,
and we reached out to the remaining 5 industrial property owners to see if they would be interested. Three of these
5935 South Zang Street,Suite 280, Littleton CO 80127
parcels were unresponsive to our emails and/or mailers. Two stepped forward with interest. I personally visited both
interested parties and got a chance to better understand the layout of the property including the existing uses,
buildings, traffic, landscaping, parking, and visibility of the property from different parts of the neighborhood.
It became abundantly clear to me that our chosen location was vastly superior. Our location at 1500 Riverside Avenue
has the ability to utilize existing industrial warehouse for pre-existing screening of our future freestanding facility,
hosted several mature street trees along Riverside further screening the proposed facility, and it was also the closer of
the two to our existing facility’s location. The other interested candidate would have had the freestanding facility in the
center of their parcel with the building on the side of the property providing little to no screening of the structure.
Lastly, it’s important to note that no existing buildings or structures in this industrial section of our search ring were
available viable for co-location that would have allowed us to avoid proposing a new freestanding facility.
5935 South Zang Street,Suite 280, Littleton CO 80127
EXISTING SITE CONDITIONS:
EQUIPMENT:
Specifically, my client proposes the installation of the following equipment:
• (1) 60’ 3-Legged telecommunications facility with fiberglass screens and legs painted to match existing building
• (12) antennas, (9) remoted radio heads, and (2) Over-Voltage Protection units all located behind screens
• (1) concrete pad, (2) equipment cabinets, (1) 30 KW Diesel generator, and (1) steel canopy
• (1) 6’ cedar fence with a 4’ wide single gate and 10’ wide double gate
• (1) Hybrid Cable routed inside tower leg connecting ground equipment to antenna equipment
• Underground power and fiber cables from utility sources to the ground equipment area
5935 South Zang Street,Suite 280, Littleton CO 80127
SITE PLAN:
5935 South Zang Street,Suite 280, Littleton CO 80127
5935 South Zang Street,Suite 280, Littleton CO 80127
COMPREHENSIVE PLAN & WIRELESS CODE:
In accordance with the Communications and Technology section of the City Comprehensive Plan, this new wireless
equipment will provide citizens access to high-quality, reliable wireless service in a part of the city that faces significant
coverage and capacity demands. Access to this improved service will continue to be a critical component for community
interactions as well as economic growth now that 4G-LTE has become widely utilized and as the nation begins to
transition into 5G capabilities that will usher in new smart city technologies.
This design carefully took into consideration and meets the standards as outlined in Paragraph C Standards of Chapter
3.8.13 of the Municipal Code. Specifically, the proposed design does not exceed the height allowance, provides
screening of proposed equipment through custom designed concealments, and relies on existing building textures,
colors, and patterns for the concealments to be architecturally compatible. The location between buildings adds to this.
SUMMARY:
Verizon Wireless wishes to submit a PDP/FDP application for a new wireless telecommunication facility. This facility will
be a 60’ self-support screened tower painted to match the existing building with ground equipment at the base of the
tower all located between 3 sides of the existing building with the fourth side screened by a new cedar fence. This
facility will replace an existing power transmission pole colocation that is nearing the end of its life due to equipment
limitations on the utility pole. Once this new facility is up and running, Verizon will engage to terminate the existing site.
The proposed location has been carefully selected to create the least visually impactful facility that we could find in our
small search ring. The location between the buildings and the use of screening materials were decided early on in order
to engage stealth technologies. We feel that this design and location is the most fitting and least intrusive proposal for
the area in order to continue providing safe, reliable, and fast wireless services. We look forward to working with you.
Sincerely,
Ryan Sagar
Vice President, Real Estate
M: 219-477-0099
rsagar@csainet.com